World demand for security equipment to reach $126 billion in 2018

World demand for security equipment will increase 6.8% annually to $126 billion in 2018. The fastestgains will be in parts of Asia, Central and South America, Africa, and the Middle East, where securitymarkets are relatively underdeveloped and the intensity of security product use is low. In the UnitedStates and Western Europe, an improved economic outlook and rebound in building construction activitywill provide significant opportunities. Technological innovations and the integration of security equipmentwith smartphones and other electronic devices, as well as with lighting, heating, and other buildingsystems, will aid sales of security equipment. These and other trends are presented in World SecurityEquipment, a new study from The Freedonia Group Inc., a Cleveland-based market research firm.

Electronic security products accounted for more than two-thirds of total global security equipment demand in 2013. These products are also expected to post faster sales growth than mechanical security equipment through 2018. Advances will be driven by rising penetration in developing markets as well as by improvements in system capabilities, which will spur initial adoptions and upgrades to existing systems.

Among individual national markets, the fastest gains are expected in India and China, both of which will generate double-digit annual growth through 2018. Analyst David Petina said, "Mexico, South Africa, and Turkey will all post annual gains of at least 8%." Despite rapid gains over much of the past decade, the use of many types of security equipment in these countries remains low compared to more mature markets. This is true even in China, which was the largest market for security equipment in 2013, with nearly one-fifth of global sales.

Although lagging the gains of these developing markets, North America and Western Europe are forecast to see significant improvements in security equipment sales. Growth will be driven by a projected recovery in the large U.S. market, benefiting from a rebound in construction, product innovations, and improvement in GDP and consumer income trends. While gains in Western Europe will not rise as quickly, they too represent continued acceleration following a period of extended economic weakness.The market in Western Europe will benefit from improving economies and interest in upgrading installed security equipment, but will be constrained by its relative maturity.

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